Below is a guest post from the folks at Learn Mandarin Now. It focuses on 5 special tips for Chinese learners, including a link to an Infographic that I was able to contribute to, which you can see here.

This guest post is unique in that it combines interviews and tips from other language learners that is linked throughout the post. Feel free to leave comments below as well, letting us know what some of your favorite tips and tricks for learning Chinese are.

Without much further ado, onto the post!

As part of our continuing efforts to help you with learning better Mandarin Chinese, we are always looking for ways to bring you new ideas, tips and suggestions.

However, before we go any further, we’d like to thank Greg for his recent contribution to our Infographic and for letting us make this post: both greatly appreciated.

So, anyway, what are these special tips?

Best Resources to learn Mandarin Chinese

We thought it worthwhile to summarise in one place the details about several top resources such as Pleco, Skritter or Italki which have been mentioned frequently during our recent interviews and research with top bloggers and language experts, especially in How to learn Chinese.

Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not always necessary to spend lots of money to learn Mandarin Chinese and, in fact, there are a number of free, helpful resources available if you hunt around the internet.

Learning Mandarin Chinese in China

Even though there are many very useful online resources available, a number of the people we talked to suggested that the most effective strategy is to go to China and learn the language.

This is certainly one of the best ways to get ahead if you are really serious about learning Chinese and want to improve your skills quickly. In fact, we recently had an interview about this topic with several foreigners such as Jo, who is studying Mandarin Chinese in China.

A great tip for intermediate Chinese speakers: many foreigners these days choose to go and live in second tier cities such as Chengdu where English is not widespread and they can enjoy more opportunities to practice Chinese with locals. Plus, the living cost is much cheaper! So, why not try this?

Secrets to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese

Once you do you get to China to live or work, one of the best ways to improve your language skills when you are there is to try to blend into the local culture and talk as much as you can to native Chinese speakers.

If you are not able to travel to China, there are websites such as Italki where you can still speak with native speakers—indeed, we know of some foreign students who learnt to speak Mandarin Chinese even though they are not in China!

Another tip for intermediate Chinese speakers: “one on one” coaching has proven to be one of the best ways to improve Chinese speaking quickly! If your budget is tight, then here are some resource platforms that you can use for free:

(1) Wechat: the most popular chatting App in China where you can connect with a billion, active Chinese speakers and also make Chinese friends

(2) Youku/Tudou: the most popular Chinese video platform where you can watch the latest TV, films or videos for free to let you catch up with popular expressions, the latest slang and so on.

Should you be learning Cantonese as well?

Many students want to learn Cantonese as well as Mandarin Chinese and this is well worthwhile if you are living and/or working in Hong Kong, Macau or Guangzhou—and maybe have a spouse or close friend who is from Hong Kong. Some ideas and suggestions about learning Cantonese are offered in 10 great tips from a Cantonese speaking expert

There are many different ways to learn Chinese characters, but Skritter seems to be the tool many people recommend, and it’s certainly worth taking a look at.

Sometimes, students cannot decide whether to learn simplified or traditional Chinese characters. However, in our opinion, it’s more important to get started and begin to learn. If you can master either type of character, you can basically understand the other.

Yet another tip for intermediate Chinese speakers: although everything seems to be digital these days, one other great advantage about learning characters is if you want to pass the HSK TEST. The test is from level 1- 6 and is becoming more and more popular in China; having the HSK certificate can increase your chances to get a scholarship in a university in China or getting more job opportunities.

In any event, if you are really keen to start learning Mandarin Chinese, remember to keep reading the interesting articles, advice and tips we continue to provide—and you’ll enjoy your learning journey that much more!